Shoppers ditch heels and loafers for slippers, Crocs
Born during the pandemic, could the shift to casual shoes be here to stay?
Evelyn Brito used to make fun of friends and family members who loved Crocs’ chunky, colorful clogs — until she gave them a try during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
They weren’t the right look when she worked at an office downtown, testing hardware and software for audio equipment. She preferred wearing flats or heels, or boots in winter. Now that she’s working from home, the Crocs are comfortable and easy to slip on and off, said Brito, 28, of Portage Park. She was a little embarrassed to wear them in public at first but quickly got over it and now considers herself “a huge fan.”
“It’s all turned casual during the pandemic,” she said. “Everything goes.”
With offices closed and parties canceled, consumers like Brito are kicking off high heels in favor of comfort, if they bother to buy shoes at all.
“One thing we heard over and over is: ‘These are so cute, I just don’t need anything. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to the office, I’m not going to dinner, I’m not going to any weddings. I’m not, I’m not, I’m not,’” said TrudyRobinson, ownerofAPied, a shoe and accessories shop in Chicago’s Roscoe Village neighborhood.
Chicago-area shoe stores say sales have suffered as stay-athomelifestyles gave people fewer reasons to purchase footwear and shifted spending to less expensive casual styles. Retailers say they’re confident business will bounce back as people return to offices, parties and travel, but some think a shift to more casual looks, already underway before the pandemic, is here to stay.
Dress shoes already were losing ground to casual and athleisure footwear, but the decline in dress shoe sales during the pandemic has been “really stark,” said Beth Goldstein, a footwear industry analyst at market research firm TheNPDGroup.
Overall footwear sales were down 20% between March and October compared with the same period last year, but dress shoe sales plunged 60%, according to TheNPDGroup.
“It’s not going to go away, but it could be a permanently smaller piece of the business,” Goldstein said.
Things were especially tough early in the pandemic, when nonessential stores closed. City Soles in Bucktown sawsales slow despite having an established online store and offering sameday shoe delivery via Uber and Lyft.
Customers“were living in yoga pants at home in front of a laptop, trying to save their jobs,” said owner Scott Starbuck. “Although many things thrived in that environment, the need for specialty footwearwas not an essential, for sure.”
There have been bright spots. People spent 70% more on slippers between March and October, 7% more on cold-weather boots and 22% more on mules and clogs, driven by Crocs, Goldstein said. Crocs reported record revenues in the third quarter, up nearly 16% compared with last year.
Retailers likeWesley’s Shoes, a 50-year-old store in Hyde Park, reported stronger sales of athletic shoes. Wesley’s also started carrying more slippers, including trendier pairs from Birkenstock and Ugg, and has done more business online, said owner BruceWesley.
That still doesn’t make up for customers who didn’t buy shoes
“We are optimists and believe that classic styles will come back as people start going back to work and to events.” — Keith Duplain, president of the St. Louis Group brand portfolio at Caleres, Allen Edmonds’ parent company
to wear on Easter or to graduation and wedding celebrations, or kids who didn’t get new ballet shoes for dance classes, especially since the items that are selling well tend to be lower priced, Wesley said.
“Even a nice slipper can’t compete with a waterproof Italian leather boot,” said Robinson, of A Pied.
It’s not just small chains. Designer Brands, which operates DSW Designer ShoeWarehouse, said sales online and at stores open at least 14 months fell 30.4% between August and October compared with the same period last year.
The company plans to gradually close up to 15% of its 524 U.S. stores and is doubling down on a shift to casual and athletic styles that was already underway before the pandemic, CEO Roger Rawlins said during a call with analysts earlier thismonth. Even as overall sales slowed, athletic shoe sales grew 5% and kids’ sales were roughly flat, since the pandemic didn’t keep children from outgrowing old shoes.
Brands, too, have been leaning into casual styles. Men’s footwear company Allen Edmonds introduced sneaker versions of its oxford dress shoes this year. Casual styles made up 40% of the company’s business so far in 2020, up from 32% last year.
While the company expects its casual business to grow, it isn’t abandoning dressier styles.
“We are optimists and believe that classic styles will come back as people start going back to work and to events,” said Keith Duplain, president of the St. LouisGroup brand portfolio at Caleres, Allen Edmonds’ parent company.
Trying to figure out when that will happen — and what shoppers will want to buy next year — is trickier.
DSWsaid it was conservative in buying inventory for the spring but worked with suppliers tomake sure it could get more shoes in stores relatively quickly if things returned to normal sooner than expected.
Local stores that scaled back inventory purchased for fall said they are still being cautious with orders for next year and focusing on casual styles. They also had to work with suppliers virtually, instead of attending the usual trade shows where they can meet designers and touch products before buying.
“We’re playing it safe and staying with suppliers we know,” said Wesley, at Wesley’s Shoes. “We’re not doing a lot with new suppliers.”
At A Pied, Robinson didn’t place as many orders for spring as she usually would. There’s some risk she won’t get everything she wants, but less risk of getting stuck with styles that are out of step with what shopperswant.
“Because we’re smaller, we can chase 12 pairs of this and eight pairs of that oncewe knowwhat’s going to happen,” she said.
At Jayne Boutique, buyer KatieCummingsthinks the first half of next year will look much like 2020, when shoes that were “comfortable but cute” were popular at Jayne’s stores in Forest Park, La Grange, Glen Ellyn, Oak Park and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, she said. Sales of dressier styles virtually stopped.
Jayne will still likely carry a couple of shoes “heading toward dressy,” but only at some locations, because Cummings doesn’t want to leave customers who do need something fancier empty-handed.
“I don’t envision weddings and parties and baby showers this spring, but who knows?” Cummings said. “You buy oneway and just hope it’s correct.”